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Chapter 26: Anomaly Catching Anomaly
🕑 Added 2025-06-07 16:05:01 +0000 UTCInterview Log Ⅲ
Interviewee: Agent Henry Russell
Interviewer: Senior Researcher, Yul ███ ███Introduction: Agent Henry was presumed missing due to a sudden fluctuation in Anomaly 1983. However, on September 25th, ████, his identity was confirmed at a general hospital in a downtown area.
At the time of discovery, he was suffering from malnutrition and severe mental confusion, and was soon taken into custody by the Bureau.
Currently, Agent Russell has mostly recovered his physical health, but still shows mild symptoms of catatonia.
Additional Notes: The previous two interviews were suspended due to the onset of his excessive mental confusion.
The same symptoms appeared each time he tried to describe the Anomalous Entity he had encountered, and since then, he has been prohibited from being asked about the entity.
[Start Log]
>Researcher Yul ███: Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Agent Henry.
>Agent Henry: It's no problem. It's my duty, and I'm feeling much better now.
>Researcher Yul ███: That's good to hear. So, can you tell me how you were able to escape from that place?
>Agent Henry: Um, where did I leave off last time?
>Researcher Yul ███: You said you entered the red emergency exit and then came out of it again.
>Agent Henry: Ah, the red emergency exit. Right, right. It was red, not orange, definitely. That red emergency exit was a door that didn't lead anywhere, but it was at least useful enough to be called an emergency exit. Because that... whatever it was that I mentioned last time, couldn't chase me into the emergency exit.
>Researcher Yul ███: Continue.
>Agent Henry: After that, it was just a repetition of the same thing. I looked around for an escape route, and when the lights started flickering, I started running like crazy towards the emergency exit. And when it disappeared, I looked around again and gathered information left by other people.
>Researcher Yul ███: Wait a minute, other people left information?
>Agent Henry: Yes, they had scribbled all over the walls. There was a lot of useless information, but there was also a lot of useful information.
>Above all, I had no choice but to follow the words written there, because the only clues about escaping were obtained from the graffiti left by others.
>Researcher Yul ███: What was written?
>Agent Henry: It said to find orange. That was the only clue.
>I had no idea what that orange meant, but I had no choice but to search every nook and cranny for that orange thing. But I couldn't find anything orange, let alone anything suspicious, And finally, when only one area remained unexplored... I fell into a trap.
>Researcher Yul ███: A trap?
>Agent Henry: Yes. As usual, I was running towards the emergency exit when it suddenly started popping out from next to the emergency exit. I thought I would be caught by it if I tried to enter the emergency exit, so I ran to the last area I hadn't explored yet, come what may. But it was a dead end, and I was caught by it, which was right behind me, by it――
Agent Henry's face twitched, but his convulsions subsided after a while.
After a few deep breaths, Henry, who had returned to a completely stable state, began to continue what he had been saying.
>Agent Henry: I was caught by it. I almost made contact.
>Researcher Yul ███: By 'almost,' you mean you didn't actually make contact.
>Agent Henry: That's right. I don't know how it was possible, but I can only say that I was lucky. Suddenly a door appeared next to me, and I jumped into it without even thinking. It was only after I jumped through that door that I belatedly realized that the door was orange, but I would have jumped in no matter what color it was. Anyway, it would have been a much better choice than being caught by it.
>Researcher Yul ███: So, you finally managed to escape through that?
When Researcher Yul ███ asked, Henry stopped talking for a moment.
He nervously tapped his index finger on the desk while he paused, and then answered the researcher's question.
>Agent Henry: No.
>Researcher Yul ███: No?
>Agent Henry: I thought so for a while. After all, the scenery that appeared after I went out that door was not a desolate and empty shopping center, but a vast sky and a residential complex where people could be seen. I ran towards the people with a happy heart. It felt like it had been decades since I had last talked to people, and I was so happy to have escaped from that hellish place and met someone again.
Agent Henry taps his fingers on the desk faster and faster. At the same time, he begins to show symptoms of hyperventilation.
>Agent Henry: But that thing that I thought was a person, that was―――
With a vomiting sound, Henry leans his head towards the bucket that was prepared in the room.
A paramedic on standby approached him for emergency treatment, but Henry raised his hand to indicate that his condition was not serious.
After a few minutes, Henry, who had regained his composure, requested to continue the interview.
>Researcher Yul ███: Are you sure you're okay? You can stop at any time if you want. And of course, we can start again later.
>Agent Henry: Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. It's painful to think about it again, but it's already happened, and we don't know when that Anomaly will be activated again. If what I experienced can be of help, I want to tell you as soon as possible.
>Researcher Yul ███: I see, if that's what you want, let's continue. So, what was that thing that you thought was a person?
>Agent Henry: It was a mannequin. When I touched its shoulder, it collapsed forward powerlessly. Just in case, I turned it over to look at its face, but instead of facial features, there was only a phrase that said there was no escape.
>Researcher Yul ███: ...Malicious.
>Agent Henry: Well, aren't Anomalies all like that? They all do things that go too far for a prank. I'm saying this in a playful way now, but at the time, I was completely out of my mind... I mean, I was experiencing severe mental confusion. Seeing surreal scenes where the sky and the earth were turned upside down, corpses appeared and disappeared, and the surrounding scenery was all messed up. I don't know if that's what I actually experienced, or if it just looked that way because of my mental confusion. Anyway, I lost consciousness after that, and I was lying there waiting to die without being able to move a single step.
>Researcher Yul ███: But you were found in a downtown area. Does that mean you were suddenly teleported outside?
>Agent Henry: No. That's not it, what should I say...
>Researcher Yul ███: Take your time. There's no need to rush.
When the researcher spoke, Henry began to ponder for a moment.
He shook his upper body for several seconds, thinking hard about something, and then began to tell his experience in a much more organized tone than before.
>Agent Henry: As I said before, I can't say for sure because I wasn't in a normal mental state at the time... In my memory at the time, it felt like someone was carrying me on their back.
>Researcher Yul ███: Carrying you, do you mean the Anomalous Entity inside?
>Agent Henry: I don't know if it was an Anomalous Entity or what. I didn't even have the strength to open my eyelids, so I had no choice but to go wherever it took me. What I can say for sure is that it was quite short. It's clear that my knees were dragging on the ground when I was being carried on its back.
>Researcher Yul ███: Even if you're not sure, tell me the characteristics of it as you remember them.
>Agent Henry: Hmm... First of all, I think it had fingers. And it had a very soft and small body, like a child's. And, this is not very important, but...
Agent Henry scratches his head, hesitating to say something. He looked as if he was ashamed of what he was about to say.
He scratched his head several times busily, washed his face, and repeatedly rested his chin on his hand,
Then, he began to say something in a much smaller voice than before.
>Agent Henry: ...It, it smelled really good. Good enough that I'd like to smell it again if I could.
[End Log]
—Click
With the sound of a mouse click, the video playing on the monitor ended.
It was none other than Researcher Oliver who pressed the button.
Next to him, who had been replaying the interview logs several times, were numerous piles of documents and data,
Among them, the only document taken out had the number 163-19 written largely on the front page.
"...".
He stared blankly into the air, as if deep in thought, without saying a word.
Like Agent Henry in the video, he rested his chin on his hand and nervously tapped his fingers on the desk.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
The room echoed with a rhythmic sound, indistinguishable as to whether it was the ticking of a clock or the tapping of fingers against the desk.
And when his fingers finally stilled, he slowly closed his eyes with a small sigh—
"It's become certain."
He muttered the soliloquy in a confident tone.
